


New Cybertron

by TheBeardedOne



Series: Cybertron Prime [1]
Category: Transformers: Prime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27658906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBeardedOne/pseuds/TheBeardedOne
Summary: After the end of the war between Autobot and Decepticon, Jack Darby and Arcee are tasked with securing the future of all Cybertronians.
Series: Cybertron Prime [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022452
Kudos: 6





	1. Aftermath Of War

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based just after the TV series with a divergence point mid season 2 (which is when it stopped being broadcast in the UK for several months). Unlike many Transfrormers other stories, I have decided to avoid doing a human-to-cybertronian or cybertronian-to-human transformation since it does not seem to fit with canon.  
> Any errors are mine, the intellectual properties belong to Hasbro/Taraka.

Optimus slowly lowered the inactive spark-chamber of the being that had once been his greatest ally, then his greatest enemy, into the final grave and then stepped back. Pausing in contemplation for a moment, he turned and walked to the large podium constructed for him and looked out at the silent crowd, humans and cybertronians, gathered before him.

"The Great War is over." Optimus said. "Megatron's Spark has been extinguished and his path has reached an end. Now is the time to pause and reflect, to abandon old hatreds and to look forwards to a new future."

The silence seemed to deepen as Optimus turned slightly to look at the line of graves.

"All of us have lost loved ones in the Great War. We have taken injuries, both physical and mental, and the scars will remain with us. Yet, to use an expression of those upon whose planet we stand, scars fade over time. The losses we have taken will always be with us, but we will hold those we have lost in our Sparks, in our hearts."

Once again, silence held his audience and Optimus straightened, knowing that his image was being seen across the world.

"The War is over." he repeated. "Now it is time to move on. I have already spoken with the leaders of the greater nations of this world and they have agreed to accept any cybertronian who wishes to stay here as citizen with the same rights, and responsibilities, as the humans whose world this is. But I know that many will fear us because of our size, our strength and the fact that we are different. So I have this to say.  
"For years, the Autobots have sought to protect this world. Now that Megatron is no more, the old divisions between Autobot and Decepticon can be healed. Those Decepticons who continue to follow the path of terror and power no longer will be welcomed back as cybertronians. Those who wish to continue will be exiled, free to go their own way as long as they never return.  
"But a symbol of this is needed. A place where cybertronians can live without infringing on the lands that humans have need of, a place from where we can protect the humans who have proven themselves to be dear to our Sparks.  
"And so I have gained the approval of the leaders of the great nations for the construction of a city on the moon. A place built for both cybertronians and humans, a place where we can live in peace and where the leaders of the human nations can meet to discuss their differences, and how to avoid those differences causing conflict.  
"A place that shall be called New Cybertron.  
"And to show that we are serious about our quest for peace, I have already named the new Senate Building which is under construction. I have named it after June and William, two of the bravest humans I have ever encountered, and two who had the largest hearts. The Senate of New Cybertron, open to both human and cybertronian members, shall be named Fowler Hall."

The silence, already deep, seemed to freeze, then heads turned to look at Jack Darby, cradled in Arcee's arm. Jack blinked then used his remaining hand to dash the insipient tears from his eyes. Arcee looked down at him and then lifted her gaze back to meet that of Optimus.

"All here know of the sacrifice that June and William Fowler made, how they gave their lives selflessly to prevent Megatron from detonating the device that would have wiped out all organic life on earth. Their courage, their heroism, shall never be forgotten as long as single cybertronian remains on-line.  
"And now I ask you to join me in remembering those who fell on this world, human and cybertronian, Decepticon and Autobot. Although they are no longer with us in being, their Spark, their spirit, will remain with us forever."

Optimus stepped back from the podium and Raf, his face still bandaged from the injuries he had received, stepped forwards and began reading from a list.

"Cliffjumper, Breakdown..."

* * *

"Are you alright?"

Jack looked up at Arcee's worried expression and gave a faint smile.

"I'm coping. Not going to go for any more rides, though. Hard to do with an arm and leg missing."

"I wanted to talk to you about that." Ratchet said, approaching them. "I've been keeping track of your human medical research and I think there may be a way to replace your lost limbs with powered artificial ones. It'll take a while, I'll need to get a human medical team to help and operate to isolate the nerves in your arm and leg so I can link them to a biochip, but I think it's possible. Once I'm done, you two will be able to ride to your sparks content."

Jack looked at the old medic in shock but Arcee reached out with her free arm and gave Ratchet a powerful hug before releasing him and stepping back.

"If you can, that'll be great."

Jack nodded, then looked round.

"Where did Optimus go?"

"That's the other thing. He wants you two to join him in the bunker. Just before the funeral, we received a signal from an Autobot ship.

"It's the Ark. And it's going to arrive fairly soon."

"The Ark?" Arcee gasped, her voice shocked. "Where has it been? I thought it was destroyed!"

"We all did, but apparently Elita-one managed to pull a fast one and got all the sparklings to safety. I only got part of the message, but there's close to a thousand fully-grown 'Bots aboard, and the Ark's energon tanks are still at something like 40%."

Arcee stared at Ratchet, unable to speak.

* * *

"Bridge-lock confirmed, the Ark has locked onto and activated stabilization circuits for the other end." Wheeljack announced. Beside him, Soundwave stood by the control console, tentacles extended and readouts flashing across his visor. "Activating vortex now."

The familiar vortex opened up and a moment later a form walked through it. Walking up to Optimus, it saluted, then threw both arms round him in a hug.

"Orion, I thought you were lost!"

"Elita, it is good to see you here once more."

"Who's that?"

Miko's quiet question somehow managed to cut through the hangar and Elita released Optimus and stepped back, looking round quizzically.

"Elita, you already know Arcee and Bulkhead, the humans with them are Jack and Miko. They have proven themselves valuable allies, it was Jack who took Megatron off-line, although he took serious injuries in the process."

Elita walked over and bent slightly to look at Jack, ignoring the way Arcee stiffened and shifted her free arm ready to raise it to protect him.

"You took out Megatron? You must have some pretty big bearings for an organic."

"He does." Arcee said curtly and Elita smiled wryly.

"It's okay, Arcee. I'm not going to make a run on him like I did with Tailgate. You can keep him to yourself. I'm not sure I could cope with anyone who managed to take down Megs without being a Prime."

"Jack is my second-in-command." Optimus said, amusement evident in his voice. "His actions proved that my choice was not an error. If he is not a Prime among humans, I know not what to call him."

"Jack Prime..." Elita mused. "Sounds good, but no. I'll stick with Orion."

Jack smiled and leaned back against Arcee's shoulder, shifting the stump of his lost arm slightly to relieve the pressure on it. Elita's optics widened and she stared at his missing limbs, then at Arcee.

"Yes." Arcee confirmed. "Jack lost his arm and leg when he deactivated Megatron. Alone."

Elita's already-wide optics widened even more, then she stepped back and bowed.

"Then I truly honored to meet you, Jack Prime."

"If you are done here, I need to get him to surgery." Ratchet said from behind them. "The team is waiting and I have the chips ready for implantation. After that, Arcee, I need to talk to you."

"The Ark has several med-bots who can..." Elita started, only for Ratchet to interrupt her.

"I'm sure it does, but what do they know about organics? Do they understand the complexities of the humans biological setup? How humans live? I've been studying them for years, Elita. I was taught by June Fowler herself! I can't risk an untrained med-bot blundering through an operation of this delicacy, especially not with Jack as the patient! Your offer is noted, but declined. Arcee, Jack, let's go."

Elita watched the trio exit, then turned to Miko and Bulkhead. Moving across, she clapped Bulkhead on his free shoulder then looked at Miko.

"Good to see you again, Bulkhead. Been a while. Greetings, Miko."

Miko nodded in return and Elita turned back to Optimus.

"I see that there is a great deal that I must catch up on."

"Then if you will come with me, I will see to your debriefing." Optimus said, gently wrapping his arm around her. "Wheeljack, you are in charge until I return."

"The others will want to debark."

"Bulkhead?"

"We're on it." Bulkhead said with a salute. "Miko, I don't think there'll be any air up there for you, so let's grab Jack's old suit. It should fit you."

"Wow!" Miko exclaimed, bouncing on his shoulder as he turned towards the storage rooms. "At last! I'm going into space! The first human on an autobot spaceship! Way cool!"

"Very." rumbled Bulkhead. "Which is why you'll need the suit."

Wheeljack watched them leave and laughed softly. Soundwave turned to look at him, head tilted inquisitively.

"Oh, Bulk's always been a pushover for a sparkling."

Soundwave's visor lit with a picture of Arcee and Jack gazing into each others eyes, then one of Miko and Bukhead laughing.

"Yeah, Soundwave." Wheeljack said. "Arcee and Jack, if I didn't know better, I'd say they had become Sparkmates. Miko and Bulkhead, I'd say siblings."

Soundwave considered it for a moment, then nodded and turned back to the control panel, checking that the bridge was remaining stable.


	2. Preparations For Departure

Jack stumbled and almost fell, but a large hand blocked his fall. Grabbing onto it, he let it slowly lift him back to his feet, then he looked up into the concerned optics.

"Thanks, Arcee."

"You need to take it easier." Arcee said, her voice slightly scolding. "You know that it'll take you a while to adapt to your new limbs, even with the advanced tech Ratchet implanted in you."

"But the sooner I adapt, the sooner we can move on." Jack said, smiling up at her. "You know how stubborn I am, love."

"Very." sighed Arcee, rolling her optics in resigned exasperation. "Okay, but go a bit slower, huh?"

Jack opened his mouth to toss off a flippant reply, then paused as he saw the worry in her expression. Nodding, he gripped the support rail once again and took another step on his new, metal leg.

"It's a pity you missed the ceremony. Seeing Optimus place the first foundation-spike for the Fowler Hall and New Cybertron, it was moving."

"How's the moon-gate holding up?"

"Stable." Arcee said with a shrug. "Wheeljack was really full of himself for a while, then Soundwave punctured his ego with a single recording. Those two seem to be getting on very well."

"Heh." grunted Jack as he balanced himself and prepared for his next step. "They're both good with tech and both great fighters, they've got lots in common."

"Autobot and Decepticon working together." Arcee mused. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Well, technically they... woah!" Arcee caught Jack before he could hit the ground and set him upright again. "Thanks. Technically they aren't 'cons or 'bots any more, just cybertronians."

"It'll take me a while to adjust." admitted Arcee, moving slightly to follow Jack as he took his next step. "With Megatron gone..."

"Yep." Jack said, a mixture of triumph and sadness on his face. "I know. It needed to be done, but..."

"I know." Arcee said softly, remembering the first few nights after Jack had killed Megatron, how he had woken up crying or screaming from his nightmares. "I know."

"Anyone here? I'd like you to meet someone."

Jack looked up at the red-and-gold 'bot standing by Elita-one's side. The newcomer returned his gaze, then turned slightly and let out a low whistle.

"Helloooo, gorgeous! I'm Hot Rod, the best pilot this side of Old Cybertron. May I invite you for a long drive? I've seen some lovely areas nearby..."

Arcee shook her head and picked up Jack as she walked forwards. Jack leaned against her shoulder as they approached their visitors and Arcee circled Hot Rod, looking at him measuringly.

"Well, you've got the servos, I'll admit, but I don't think you can match the bearings of _my_ partner."

"Hey, I've got the biggest bearings..." Hot Rod began, only to be interrupted by Elita.

"Her partner's the one who took down Megatron."

Hot Rod let out a low hum, then looked at Arcee. "Your partner took down the big Meg? Wow, I gotta meet him. Hey, dump the organic and let's go find him so I can shake his servo... ow! What was that for?"

Elita shook her head as she delivered a second slap to the top of Hot Rod's helmet.

"You don't have processing-cycles for anything other than flying and driving, do you?" she asked in an aggravated tone. "Now shut up a moment. Jack, Arcee, this is Hot Rod, ace pilot and pain in the gears. Rod, this is Arcee of Team Prime and her partner, Jack Prime, the one who deactivated Megatron."

Hot Rod froze, staring at Jack with wide optics.

"You... You're the one who..."

"Hot Rod here went up against Megatron once." Elita said. "He was in the medical wards for... in your terms, almost a year. Almost went off-line four times."

"Yeah." Hot Rod said, nodding slowly, his optics unfocused. "I thought I could take him. I was young, brash..."

"Stupid."

"That too." Hot Rod agreed cheerfully. "But I got better."

Elita snorted and turned back to Jack and Arcee.

"Orion sent me. He'd be here himself, but with that worldwide summit going on, he couldn't make it. He wanted to ask for a favor from you."

"Whatever he wants." Jack stated and Arcee nodded in agreement. Elita laughed.

"Okay. Mind if we sit down? It'd probably be best if you weren't standing for this."

* * *

Arcee stared at Elita as Jack shook his head.

"Okay, let me summarize. Optimus has stripped all the weapons off the Nemesis and mounted them, and lots of armor, on the Ark. He wants me to join a human and cybertronian team and travel to Cybertron to collect Vector Sigma and bring it here."

"Well, he wants you to lead the team." Elita said. "He sent this, he said it's still synced to you."

Jack accepted the box and opened it. Nestled inside was a familiar crystalline shape. Hot Rod let out a long whistle.

"The Key!" he said quietly. "Wow, I thought that was a myth... wait. _Still_ synced? You've used it before?"

"When I had to restore Optimus' memories after he sacrificed his Matrix of Leadership to destroy Unicron, yes." Jack said, picking up the key and turning it over in his hands. Hot Rod's eyes widened.

"Unicron? Great Primus... I thought _he_ was a... what was he doing here?"

"Huh, well, turned out that he was Earth. Or Earth had formed around him, or... it's complicated. But he's gone, dispersed, off-lined or whatever. Optimus and Megatron had to team up to take him out. We almost lost Optimus, but after I went to Cybertron, we got him back."

Hot Rod blinked a few times, then turned to Arcee, who was leaning back with a wry smile on her face. "He's teasing me, isn't he? Isn't he? He isn't?"

Jack shrugged and looked up at Elita. "When do we go?"

"Oh, not for a while yet." Elita said. "Still plenty of time for you to get used to your new limbs. We're still re-configuring the ship for a human flight crew."

Arcee leaned forwards. " _Human_ flight crew?"

"Yep." Elita said. "Seems that human's aren't affected by translight like we are. No need to enter stasis before making the jump, and they can adjust course en-route rather than rely on autopilot."

Jack looked up at Arcee, who nodded. "She's right, although trained 'bots can handle jump-stress for up to five minutes before their processors de-cohere. Lets them jump, then they get into the bridge-pod. Most ships rely on autopilot, though. Human flight crew... that'll really change things."

Elita nodded. "Yep. In-jump navigation, immediate maneuvering capabilities on emergence... if only I'd had a human on the Ark, I wouldn't have taken so much damage trying to escape."

"Hey, I got us out, remember?"

"That you did, Hot Rod. But we'd have taken less damage if someone had been able to change course instantly when we emerged into the Decepticon fleet. We'd have kept more of our engines, for one thing."

Hot Rod nodded slowly. "Yeah. Would have been nice to have had those secondary thrusters. Could have avoided the whole solar flare incident."

Jack looked up at that. "Solar flare?"

"You first. Unicron?"

* * *

"Wow."

From a distance, the Ark had seemed like a toy against a sparkly black background, but as the Jackhammer moved in closer, it expanded first to something recognizable as a starship, then into a massive monolith of metal that slowly flowed by.

"The Ark." said Hot Rod proudly. "The ship which we used to evacuate all the sparklings after the Battle of Triton Alley. The ship which they searched for and couldn't find. Yours to command, Jack Prime."

Jack shifted uncomfortably. "I'm just Jack, I'm not a Prime."

"You carry the Key." Hot Rod stated, glancing at where it glittered on Jack's artificial arm. "Only a Prime, or one with the potential to be one, may carry the Key. You carry it, so you are a Prime."

"He's got you there." Arcee chuckled from behind them as Hot Rod piloted the Jackhammer into the landing bay. Setting it down so gently that not even a tremor was felt, he powered down and opened the main hatch.

"After you."

Jack nodded and walked down the ramp, Arcee beside him, ready to grab him should his new-found sense of balance desert him. As they reached the bottom, a stentorian voice sounded.

"Ark Command arriving!"

Jack glanced up and his eyes widened as two dozen cybertronians and over two hundred uniformed humans snapped to attention. He stopped in his tracks and one of the humans marched over and saluted.

"Jack Prime, Arcee, welcome aboard the Ark. I am Captain Carlson, USAF, detached to Operation Vector Sigma. It is a great honor to meet you both."

"Thank you, Captain." Arcee said, smiling.

"Hot Rod, welcome back."

"Good to be back, Carlson. Everything fixed?"

"It is. Did you dent my ship?"

Arcee turned and her smile widened. "Wheeljack! What are you doing here? Are you coming with us?"

Wheeljack grinned and winked. "I'm the one who oversaw the refitting of the Ark, but no. I'm not going with you. I'm taking the 'hammer back to the moon and helping to build New Cybertron. Once we get the first few atmosphere domes up, it'll come along a lot faster."

"I... thought cybertronians didn't need air..." Jack said, slightly bewildered and Wheeljack laughed.

"We don't, you do. We've already got several thousand applications for immigration, so once we get the first few domes up, we can let humans in to help too. You humans are very useful, you know that?"

"We have small hands, and can get into the nooks you can't." Carlson said with a grin. "That's how we were able to refit the ship so fast. We have hydroponics, sleeping chambers, plumbing, all the mod... I mean, we have all things that humans like to have to live comfortably. If you'll come with me, I'll give you the tour."

"I'm heading back." Wheeljack said, climbing into the 'hammer. "Got loads of work to do."

"Understood." Carlson said as the hatch started to close. "You're clear for departure.

* * *

"What. A. Ship." Jack exclaimed as the door to their shared quarters closed behind them. Arcee laughed and looked round.

"And what quarters." she said. "Recharge couch, datapoints, energon storage area, weapons locker... I'm going to have to get some weapons for that."

"Bathroom, wardrobe, cupboards... bunk here..."

Jack looked at the bunk, then over at the 'bot-sized couch on which Arcee was reclining, looking round. Walking over, he climbed up using the integrated ladder on the corner and sat down, letting Arcee wrap her arm around him.

"We leave tomorrow."

"I know." Jack said quietly. "Seven day voyage... I'll miss you."

"Silly." Arcee said. "I'll be here, just in stasis."

"In there. Yes." Jack sighed, looking at the stasis pod in the corner. Arcee's arm tightened slightly in a reassuring hug.

"It's necessary." she whispered. "But it'll be fine, you're here for me."

"Always."


	3. Voyage To Cybertron

"All systems ready." Hot Rod announced. "Course laid in and confirmed, handing over piloting duties."

"I have control." said the human crew-member on the newly-installed raised control dais next to Hot Rod's normal station. "All systems nominal."

Hot Rod nodded, then turned to where Jack and Arcee were sat.

"Ship is ready for Jump. Request permission to enter stasis."

"Granted." Jack said and Hot Rod rose from his console. Striding across the bridge, he stepped into the stasis pod at the back and nodded to the human standing by the hastily-added panel attached to it.

"See you on the other side." he said as the stasis pod hummed to life. A second later, the diamond screen deployed and a brief flash of light indicated the pod's activation.

"Stasis successful."

Arcee nodded and rose. "I guess I'd better hit my pod, too. Jack?"

Jack nodded and rose. "Okay. Carlson? the mission is a go."

Carlson nodded and turned back to his console. As he started to give orders, Jack and Arcee left the bridge, walking the short distance to their quarters.

"I should have had the pod placed on the bridge." Jack mused and Arcee laughed.

"Not a good idea, love. It takes us a almost an hour to fully recover from Jump-stasis, I'd prefer that _my_ re-awaking is not witnessed by the whole bridge."

"But Hot Rod..."

"Is resistant. That's why he's one of the few starship pilots for jump-capable ships. He recovers very quickly. No more than ten minutes. Leaves less vulnerable time for the ship. Although with you unaffected, that'll change things hugely. If only we'd had you during the early days, we'd have far more ships remaining."

"You have us now." Jack smiled as they entered their quarters. "Changes things, doesn't it? I knew we were good for something..."

Arcee laughed and stepped into the pod, then crouched down.

"Before I enter stasis..." she began and Jack moved closer. Arcee smiled widely and grabbed him, pulling him into a hug, then pulling back slightly and placing her lips briefly against his forehead.

"See you in a week." she grinned as Jack stepped back, pleasure and astonishment on his face.

"I'll miss you."

"I know." Arcee whispered as Jack, gazing into her optics, pressed the activation switch.

* * *

"All the rest of the cybertronian crew are in stasis." Carlson said as Jack re-entered the bridge. "Arcee?"

"In stasis." Jack said, looking out of the main viewport at the starfield. "I guess we're good."

"We are." Carlson said. "Sir, if you'll be seated?"

As Jack sat down, aware of the empty seat beside him, Carlson spoke into his headset, his voice echoing across the ship.

"All hands, this is the captain. Man your stations, prepare for acceleration. Jump in one minute. All hands to stations, this is not a drill."

"All stations report readiness, all personnel suited." a woman reported from the side of the bridge and Carlson nodded.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today we make history. Not only will we be the first humans to leave our home system, but we will be the first to pass beyond the lightspeed barrier."

"...not entirely true." Jack said quietly and Carlson looked at him, one eyebrow raised in query. "I've been to Cybertron before, went by the Space Bridge. That's way faster than light, so..."

Carlson nodded with a wry grin, then re-activated his comm.

"Correction, we will be the first _military_ personnel to leave our system. All crew, prepare for Jump!"

Jack leaned back as the grav-generators in the Ark started to whine as they fought against the massive acceleration provided by the engines. Ahead of them, the starfield seemed to distort and shatter, turning into blue lines.

* * *

Jack grunted as he delivered a one-two combination-punch to the sandbag. The bag barely shifted from Jack's right-hook, but his cybernetic-left jab jerked it against its chain.

"Can't sleep?"

Jack froze, then looked round to the entrance of the gym where Carlson was looking at him.

"Not really. It's just... I..."

"Considering you only got those limbs a few weeks back, you're doing very well with them."

Jack blinked, then looked ah his hands, clenching and unclenching them. "Yeah, soon I'll be almost like I was before..."

Carlson walked over and gently guided him to one of the benches. Sitting him down, he moved to the water cooler, poured a couple of cups and returned to sit by Jack.

"Drink. You won't do anyone any good collapsing of dehydration."

Jack nodded and took a deep drink, then wiped his forehead clear of the sweat that was threatening to roll down and blind him. Carlson simply sipped his water, waiting. After a few moments, Jack glanced at him.

"So, aside from being separated from Arcee, what's eating you. Megatron?"

Jack jolted, then stared at Carlson, who nodded slowly.

"He was the first being you killed, wasn't he?"

Jack nodded and looked back down to his hands.

"I... I used a grenade to take him down. Lodged it in his ankle as he tried to shoot Miko." Jack said quietly. "When he fell, I used a second grenade to open his chest, then I grabbed a dagger and..."

For a few moments, silence seemed to hold them both, then Jack looked up with a humorless laugh.

"As I stabbed him, he looked at me. He really looked, I don't think I'd actually been real to him before, but I was the one killing him. He tried to reach me, tried to stab me, took my leg, but I managed to disrupt his Spark. When I woke up..."

Jack held out his artificial arm, flexing it slightly as his eyes remained focused on the past.

"I didn't think I could do what I did, I don't think anyone thought I could. All I was trying to do was distract him to save Miko, but... Do you know what his last words were?"

Carlson shook his head, his gaze both querying and somehow reassuring.

" _Killed by the Key-holder_. That's what he said. He seemed... I think he knew that Optimus would never kill him, that's why he kept pushing and pushing. But I was a human, unimportant to him, until I used the Key to restore Optimus. Then I was an annoyance, but he didn't see me as a threat until I actually..."

Jack stopped, tears sliding down his cheeks.

"He needed to die, he couldn't be allowed to live. I had no... no..."

"No choice. No, you didn't." Carlson confirmed quietly. "You did what you had to do, you did what was necessary."

"I killed..."

Carlson gently put his arm around Jack, allowing the young man to cry into his shoulder. "Yes. You killed him, but had he stood trial, he would have sentenced to death for his crimes, for his actions. Do not blame yourself, Jack. His actions doomed him, you were just the one who did what was needed."

Jacks quiet sobs echoed in the otherwise-deserted gym as Carlson held him protectively.

"Those fools who go on about the glories of war have no idea."

* * *

"Feeling better, sir?"

Jack looked up from his console to meet Carlson's concerned gaze.

"A bit. Thanks."

Carlson nodded, then moved to the seat set below Jack's. He examined the screens for a few minutes, then turned his chair round and looked up at Jack, who was gazing sightlessly out of the main viewport.

"Sir I was wondering... Some of the crew didn't manage to get the full briefing before we departed. In fact, almost a quarter didn't get briefed at all. May I ask for a favor?"

"Sure." Jack said. "Whatever you need."

"Well, since it's another three days before we arrive, I was wondering if you could give a briefing, an overview of the history of the cybertronians and the main figures. Since you have by far the most experience with them on the ship..."

Jack nodded. "Alright. I'll do it."

"The standard briefing may not be enough, sir. I'd review it first."

"Good idea." Jack said, tapping at his console. "I'll... what the? Who the hell put that together? I... oh no. That's wrong, that didn't happen that way... what the? Miko's Japanese, not Indonesian!"

Carlson hid a smile as Jack turned his attention fully to his new task.

* * *

"Thank you for attending." Jack said, looking out at the room of tough, battle-proven soldiers gazing back at him from the rows of benches. "As you all know, I am Jack Darby, one of the first humans to make contact with the Autobots."

Behind Jack, the screen lit up with three symbols, cybertronian, Autobot and Decepticon.

"As you probably know, the War was a conflict between two main factions. The Autobots were led by Optimus Prime, formerly a dataclerk known as Orion Pax, while the Decepticons were led by Megatron, formerly a gladiator known as Megatronus...


	4. Arrival

"Prepare for reversion. All hands man your stations, defense crews to weapons."

Jack sat down as the tempo of work around him rose to a higher pitch and Carlson glanced back at him.

"Five minutes to reversion. All bay personnel to your seats, disengage stasis pods on my mark."

Jack looked round, then looked at his console. In the corner, a small button glowed, protected by a flip-up shield. Next to it, a small readout showed Arcee's status in her pod.

"Four minutes. All personnel confirm ready."

Jack swallowed and looked round. Behind him, a lieutenant was strapping himself into the seat just by the release panel for Hot Rod's pod.

"Three minutes. All stations confirm readiness, scanners and shields on stand-by, ready for activation."

"Two minutes."

"Sixty seconds to reversion!"

"Thirty seconds!"

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, reversion!"

The rippling tube of FTL seemed to shatter and reform into blue streaks which shortened into a starfield.

"Reversion complete! Disengage stasis pods."

Jack flipped up the cover and pressed the button on his console. The readings next to it froze, then started to change and Jack began to unfasten his saeatbelt as a hiss from behind him indicated Hot Rod's emergence from stasis.

"Three vessels detected, they're starting to accelerate! Intercept courses, first one will be here in... four minutes assuming they decel to match our speed. Second in fifty-two, third in... in one hour forty-one minutes."

Jack froze for a moment, then his head snapped round.

"Sir?"

"Damn, whoever they are, they're planning on destroying us or capturing us! It'll take Hot Rod ten minutes to recover... they must know that..."

"Our shields are up."

Jack swallowed, then his eyes hardened. "I'm taking command, Sensors, full sweep, standard format. Maneuvering, roll us. I want us to look like we're doing an automated sensor sweep."

"And the rolling, sir?"

"Makes it harder to dock." Jack said with a grin that resembled that of a shark. "They'll have to lock shields with us, march rotation, dock and stay maneuvering to keep docked until they can get to our bridge... I need a couple of squads. Only the first two ships really matter, by the time the third one gets here, we'll be up to full strength again. How's Hot Rod doing. Rod?"

"But I don't want to see the gear-park again..." mumbled Hot Rod and Jack shook his head.

"Drat. Keep an eye on him, don't get too close, he might twitch. Carlson, keep our rotation constant, I'll head down and lead the troops into the first ship."

"It's my job..."

"I have the experience!" Jack snapped. "I've infiltrated the Nemesis several times, I know about cybertronian tech. If the layout of those ships is anything like that of the Nemesis, I can get them to the bridge fast and we can grab it and Hot Rod can pilot it when he's up. Got it?"

Carlson saluted. "I understand, Jack Prime. Godspeed."

* * *

"Unknown ship has matched our shields and is moving to dock, sir. Port airlock. Hot Rod is now coherent but finding it hard to move."

"Tell Jack Prime I'll be ready." Hot Rod's voice said unsteadily.

"Understood." Jack looked round, one hand caressing the stock of the stasis-rifle that Wheeljack and Ratchet had developed for their human allies. Around him, the soldiers were doing last-minute checks of their equipment. Jack looked around, drawing strength from their quiet competence, then held his hand up for attention.

"You all know the plan, you know the risks. At the first sign of aggression from our visitors, we stasis-lock them and take their ship. We don't know how many there are, or their faction, so take no unnecessary chances."

A tone from the lock interrupted him and Jack slammed down the visor of his space-suit and ducked behind the improvised barricade. Carefully, he raised his head just in time to see the door open and a large metal figure emerge, a figure with a glowing cannon on each arm. Behind him, several more figures loomed. The intruder stepped forwards and Jack nodded. At his signal, a hologram of Bulkhead activated and the armed being reacted by firing a pair of energy blasts at it.

"Hostiles confirmed!" Jack shouted and the figure seemed to shudder as a dozen stasis-pulses hit it, causing it to topple slowly over. As it did so, a pair of EMP grenades arced into the airlock, then a dozen troopers piled in, rifles flashing.

"Airlock secured, sir."

"Let's go!" Jack said, loping forwards, rifle held ready.

* * *

"What a dump." Hot Rod said, looking round with an expression of distaste. "They must be really hurting for parts, look at those missing panels, the..."

"Can you fly it?" Jack asked.

"Of course I can." Hot Rod huffed as he stalked to the piloting station and started tapping the console. "We have comm."

"Jack?"

"Here, Carlson. Ship captured, twelve crew captured and stasis-locked."

"Excellent, sir." The relief seemed to flow through the speaker, then Carlson spoke again. "What's the plan?"

"We undock and maneuver to avoid the incoming ships until our 'Bots finish stabilizing. Once they're up, we transfer a dozen to run this ship and move to intercept one of the others, telling it to surrender or be destroyed. Once that one's dealt with, we catch, destroy or chase away the last one, then get on with our mission."

"They're hailing us." Hot Rod said, looking at a flashing light on the console. "Hmmm... may I suggest sending them a language data-packet so you can talk to them, Jack Prime?"

"Do it."

* * *

The blue-and-white cybertronian on the screen was battered and scratched, but his optics remained firm.

"I am Ultra Magnus, the second in command of the Cybertron Liberation Force. Identify yourselves and your mission."

"I am Jack Darby of Earth." Jack said. "My mission was given to me by Optimus Prime and you do not have the need to know. Only your superior does. Send him to me."

"Isn't he already there" Magnus said, his voice sounding surprised. "Ironhide is the commander of the _Justice Blade_ and the leader of the Cybertron Liberation Force."

"Then he is in stasis-lock." Jack said. "Which one is he?"

"Pulling up the records now." Hot Rod said, tapping the console. "Ah, got it. Um, he's not on this ship, he's on the Ark."

"That monstrosity is the Ark?" Magnus interrupted from the screen, optics widening. "We detected large amounts of Decepticon plating on it... we thought..."

"We salvaged the Nemesis for its defenses and fixed them onto the Ark." Jack said. "It'll take a while for our 'Bots to finish stabilizing, we'll call you back. Hot Rod, contact the Ark."

Hot Rod nodded and keyed several sequences on the console. The screen switched views to show the bridge of the Ark, Carlson sat in his seat and looking up quizzically.

"Carlson, how are they?"

"Most are coherent, we have a half-dozen now mobile. Why?"

"Hot Rod, send the image. Carlson, we need to ensure that the cybertronian named Ironhide is secure. I'm coming back over."

"Arcee will meet you at the airlock."

* * *

The restraints snapped taut, but held as the cybertronian they held threw himself round, trying to escape. Jack leaned back against Arcee's shoulder, waiting for the captive to stop struggling. After a few moments, the bulky figure turned it's attention to them and released a stream of angry bleeps and whistles.

"You received the language-update." snapped Arcee. "Use it. English."

The dark figure glared, his arms flexing as he tried to activate his arm-cannons, then he sagged and looked round at the watching 'Bots before returning his gaze to Arcee and Jack.

"I am Ironhide, leader of the Autobots and the Cybertron Liberation Force. Identify yourselves or face my wrath!"

Jack just _knew_ Arcee was about to say something sarcastic, so he spoke before she could.

"I am Jack Darby, also known as Jack Prime, here on behalf of Optimus Prime. This is Arcee, one of Optimus Prime's elite warriors."

"Optimus?" Ironhide asked. "He's still alive? I need to get to him, he'll need me! With my force, we can defeat the Decepticons!"

"They are defeated." Arcee stated. "Jack killed Megatron, destroyed his Spark personally."

Ironhide stared at them, then shook his head. "No. No! Megatron couldn't be defeated by a mere organic, especially a titch like that!"

"He was." Arcee snapped, carefully placing Jack onto the work bench and picking up a memory drive. Placing it into her neck-slot, her optics dimmed briefly, then she removed the drive and stalked over to Ironhide, jamming the drive into his neck. "See for yourself."

Ironhide's optics flickered several times, then he relaxed in the restraining harness.

"It's... it's true... Megatron is... it's over..."

Jack nodded and two of the newer Autobots moved forwards and began to unstrap Ironhide.

"It is over. Will you join us?"

"For Optimus." Ironhide said, his voice filled with certitude. "For my old friend and leader, I would do anything. I live for the Prime, I would die for the Prime!"

"Then follow us." Jack said. "Let's reassure your team and then finish the mission Optimus sent us on."

"Sir!" Ironhide saluted, his optics so bright they were almost incandescent.


	5. Return To Vector Sigma

The ground shook slightly as the Ark rose back into the air, shadowed by the Justice Shield, the largest of the three ships in Ironhide's force. The other two ships, the Justice Blade and the Justice Spear, also lifted off, but instead of attaining orbit, they rose by a few hundred meters and hovered. Jack looked up at them, then round at the task force that he was leading.

"Ironhide, your 'Bots ready?"

"We are, Jack Prime." Ironhide stated. "We have uploaded alt-forms for use and are ready to deploy."

Jack nodded and looked at the others.

"Last time Arcee and I were here, we encountered an Insecticon and a Scraplet swarm. If we meet Insecticons, the 'Bots take the lead in swatting them with humans giving tactical fire support. If we encounter scraplets, the 'Bots will fall back and let the humans take point, we're organic and thus the Scraplets'll ignore us, giving us a better chance to take them down. With luck, we won't meet either. Once we make it, we call in the Ark and Shield to help set up a perimeter and secure the position while Arcee, Ironhide and I go inside and see if Vector Sigma was designed to move. If it was, our task became a lot easier. If not... we have a job and we'll do it. Any questions?"

The 'Bots and humans exchanged glances and Ironhide saluted.

"We are ready, Jack Prime."

"Then transform and roll-out!"

* * *

The last of the fleeing Insecticons dropped into the deep chasm, limbs twitching as it tried to pluck the scraplets off its torso. Jack barely noticed as he swung his rifle round, the hypersonic pellets scything through the approaching Scraplet swarm like a chainsaw through smoke. Columns of superheated plasma smashed down from above as the Blade and Spear tried to provide fire support, but the Scraplet swarm kept flowing forwards.

"This isn't good, Jack!" Arcee said almost calmly as she fired her arm-cannons at the densest portion of the swarm. "How did you defeat the last Scraplet swarm you met?"

"I hit them with a pipe and threw them at the Insecticon coming to kill me, but there were only a hundred or so Scraplets, then." Jack shouted back over the snarling of the rifles and the thunder of the energon guns. "This swarm... it's huge! Can we fall back?"

"Dead end. Literally." Ironhide said, unleashing salvos of cluster-missiles. "I'm almost out of missiles and I'm still counting several hundred thousand Scraplets!"

"Shit." Jack said quietly. "This is not good."

"Jack," Arcee said, "If this is our last moment together, then I have to say that I have never had a better partner in my life."

"Thanks, Arcee." Jack said, ejecting the energon power-cell and slapping in a new one before resuming fire. "In return, I'll say that were you human, I'd have already proposed to you. Dammit, we get out of this, I just might!"

"The answer would be yes, my love." Arcee said, turning slightly to concentrate her fire on a sub-swarm closing in fast. "Looks like this is..."

A sudden howl caused them to look up, then flinch away as a titanic column of light blasted down into the center of the Scraplet horde. Jack felt the heat of the column even through his space-suit, then the light faded and a familiar voice sounded over their comms.

"That's most of them melted, only a few left."

"Hot Rod?" Jack shouted, absently blasted a dozen Scraplets that were scuttling towards him.

"Yes, boss." Hot Rod said, satisfaction infusing his voice. "Sorry it took me so long, this thing doesn't exactly turn on a dime. You good now?"

"Fine, thanks." Arcee said, looking round before retracting her cannons.

"Message from Captain Carlson." Hot Rod responded. "He says to remind you he is captain of the Ark. That probably means more to you than it does to me, though..."

Jack froze, his mouth opening and closing, then he turned to Arcee, who was also looking somewhat shocked. A moment later, she blinked and shook her head before smiling at Jack.

"Arcee? Did you... Will you..."

"Yes. And yes." Arcee said gently. "But first, let's get this mission done."

* * *

"Vector Sigma." Ironhide said reverently as Jack placed the Key into its slot and moved back to let the floor hatch open. "The collected wisdom of the Primes, held for all time."

Jack nodded as he watched the sphere of energy rise, then frowned at the Key.

"What is it?"

"Last time, this was higher." Jack said, walking over to the Key and tapping it experimentally with his organic hand. Nothing happened and he shrugged. "Well, I guess we just look round."

As Jack turned, his cybertronian arm brushed against the Key and the world around him vanished in a flood of light.

"Arcee? Ironhide?"

The light surrounding him flickered, subtle bands of colour flowing through it and Jack looked round, realising that he was somehow floating.

"Anyone here? Hello?"

**"Identify Yourself."**

Jack swallowed, then took a deep breath.

"I am Jack Darby. I am here..."

"...on a mission from Optimus Prime." his voice answered and Jack found himself facing himself. For a moment, he stared at his unexpected duplicate, then his eyes darted to the other Jack's left arm and right leg, both of which were still natural.

"Who are you?"

"I'm you." the other Jack said. "Or a copy of you, anyway. Created when your arm touched the Key and now part of Vector Sigma. Call me... Jack Secondus. Or Jack Two if you prefer."

Jack stared for a moment, trying to get his mind working.

"Oh, Vector Sigma is capable of being moved." Two said as if reading his mind. "I've sent a message to the Caretaker, but He'll want to examine you first. You realize that we're the first human to be officially recognized by Vector Sigma as a Prime?"

"Wow." Jack breathed, then he frowned. "How do you know that? I don't?"

"I could have sworn I was faster than this." Two grinned. "I'm part of Vector Sigma now. It's... look, you know how the Matrix of Leadership works?"

"The full information of the Primes, given to a Prime."

"That's the public view, yes." Two said. "But it's wrong. The Matrix of Leadership is effectively a space-bridge radio. Oh, it's far more complex than that and uses a completely different method, but you can cope with that idea. It's a real-time link to Vector Sigma here. The Key is designed to carry the end of the link and deliver it to whichever cybertronian has been selected to become a Prime. That's how Optimus got his memories restored, they'd been backed up here and regaining the link let his memories be uploaded again."  
Two paused and grinned. "The reason you are here now, and don't worry, only a fraction of a second has passed in the real world, is that you are part-cybertronian now, you weren't last time, and your soul has something very similar to a cybertronian's Prime Potential, the ability to become a Prime without suffering explosive cognitive overclocking. Ironhide doesn't have it, but Sigma confirms that Arcee does, although she doesn't want it. Probably a good thing, having multiple Primes active simultaneously seems to generate conflict."

Jack blinked and Two shrugged. "It's very meta, I barely understand it myself and I'm hooked into the knowledge of the Primes. Oh yeah, Optimus approves of the relationship between you and Arcee, but he's worried about how some of the others might react. My advice, go for it, stud. Oh, I'm also re-configuring your arm. I'd do the leg too, but it isn't in contact with the Key, so I can't access it. Since you may need to defend yourself, I'm giving you a blade and a gun. Here's how to activate them."

The knowledge seemed to blossom in Jack's mind and Two looked round. "Oops, Vector's here. I'd better go, he'll want to talk to you. See you round!"

Two seemed to vanish and another figure appeared in his place, a large cybertronian. Jack blinked and shook his head to clear it, but when he looked again, he could still see what could only be clockwork between the being's armor plates, cogs and cams which had shimmers of light playing across them.

"Jack Darby, also known as Jack Prime?"

"I... I am."

"I am Vector Prime." the behemoth rumbled. "Chosen to guard and maintain this complex by the original Thirteen Primes, tasked with holding and protecting the collected wisdom of the Primes."

"It's an honor to meet you." Jack said, managing to collect his scattered wits. "I am here to..."

"I know." Vector Prime said. "So your copy said, but copies may not be true. I must examine _you_ to see if you are worthy."

"I am." Jack stated with a bravado he wasn't entirely sure he felt.

"We shall see." Vector Prime rumbled and his hand reached out, engulfing Jack in a light that lanced throughout his being. "We shall see, Jack..."

"...Jack! Jack!"

Jack opened his eyes and shook his head, then tried to sit up. His strength refused to come, and he slumped back into the firm arm that supported him.

"What... what happened?"

"There was this flash of light and you fainted." Arcee said, adjusting her arms to support him better. What happened?"

"That can wait." Ironhide said from the entrance. "Hot Rod is reporting that this whole complex has gone airborne and is moving towards the Ark. He's opened the main hangar bay for it, and wants to know how we did it."

"I did." said another voice and Arcee gasped as Vector Sigma rose through the floor. Jack nodded, then slumped again.

"I am sorry, human Jack Prime. I did not realize that my test would have such an effect. Warrior, let me restore unto him the energy I have unfairly taken from him."

Arcee carefully placed Jack on the floor, then activated her arm-cannons. Vector looked at her and smiled wryly.

"Fear not, Arcee, beloved of Jack Prime. He shall be healthy again in a mere part-cycle."

Vector Prime knelt and placed one hand above Jack. Once again the palm glowed, but this time, Jack felt only energy and health infusing him. After a few seconds, Vector closed his hand and rose, as did Jack.

"How do you feel, young Prime?"

Jack took a deep breath, then tested his limbs.

"A hundred percent. And then some."

"Aye. I took the liberty of adjusting your limbs and their interface circuits slightly, you will find you have full control over them, as you did over your first limbs."

Jack flexed his hand and a blade extended from his forearm, extending half its length again over the back of his hand. A second twitch retracted the blade and turned his hand into the barrel of a gun, then it reverted to its normal appearance.

"What? How..."

"A gift from Vector Sigma." Vector Prime said. And for you..."

Arcee barely had time to raise her gaze from Jack before a column of light encased her. Before Jack could do more than inhale, the column winked out and Arcee stood there apparently unchanged.

"...what happened?"

"A gift for one seen as a daughter by one Prime, and the beloved of a second." Vector Prime said. "I have restored you to full capacity, undone the physical injuries that you have suffered. Your blades will now cut deeper, for instance, for their connections have been rebuilt and you may sheathe them in energon once again."

"Vector Prime, will you remain with us?" Jack said. "I know that Optimus would be honored to meet you."

"Your offer is appreciated, but no." Vector Prime said. "I am happy in my realm, within Vector Sigma. Should I be needed, I shall emerge once more, but I hope that day will not come for many mega-cycles."

Vector Prime reached out and took the Key from it's mounting. Holding it as it shrank, he reached down and placed it against Jack's upper arm.

"And thus do I mark thee as a Prime amidst humans, Jack Darby. If the wisdom of the Primes you need, place thy human hand upon the Key in its mounting and ask thy question. But use it rarely and wisely, the wisdom of the Primes is a heavy burden to bear."

Vector nodded, then turned to face Ironhide, who was staring in shock at the ancient cybertronian.

"Thy friend truly still lives, Ironhide, lives and prospers. It is right and meet that you travel to his side, and guard his back once more. And so my task in this realm is done. Live with honor, Ironhide. Live with love, Jack Prime and Arcee."

Vector Prime closed his eyes and his body started to glow, then seemed to go transparent before fading away.


	6. Bonds And Dreams

Jack relaxed on the bench as the sun started to rise above the ocean, his arm around Arcee as she leaned against him, her head pillowed against his shoulder. For several minutes, neither of them moved, caught in the near-perfection of the moment, then Jack frowned slightly.

"Arcee..?"

"Yes, Jack?"

Jack's frown deepened as he fought to determine what was niggling at his subconcious and he turned his head to look down at Arcee as she wrapped her arm around him.

"Weren't we on the Ark?"

Arcee blinked and, releasing him, sat up and looked round.

"We... we were. In our quarters, you were tired and I needed a recharge..."

"And I curled up against you and... this must be a dream."

Arcee nodded. "That explains why you're suddenly the same size as me. Are all dreams like this?"

Jack started to answer, then blinked. "Don't cybertronians dream?"

"Not like this." Arcee said, sounding confused. "We close down, de-fragment our memory files, auto-run anti-viral programs... sometimes re-run memory files, but we don't _dream_. This is the first time I've ever dreamed. My first dream, and you're in it."

"Hang on," Jack said, confused. "Isn't this my dream?"

Arcee shrugged and resumed her previous position, arms wrapped around Jack. "I think it's my dream, it feels real to me. Perhaps we're sharing it."

Jack blinked a few times. "I suppose so. I've been through some weird stuff since we first met, so I don't see why we couldn't be sharing a dream, but how? Vector Prime?"

"His upgrading of me, and the upgrades you received." Arcee said, following his logic instantly. "Since I was upgraded, I've been aware of where you are, and your emotional state. This link could just be another facet of that."

Jack nodded. "Now I think of it, I've become aware of where you are, perhaps..."

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

Jack blinked as the world around him dissolved and reformed into his quarters. Rolling over, he glared at the alarm clock. A chuckle sounded from behind him and Arcee reached across to shut it off.

"Time to get up. Shame, I was enjoying that sunrise."

Jack stretched and winced as a muscle in his leg twinged. Reaching down, he massaged it, then swung his legs off the sleeping platform and dropped to the deck.

"Ow. Well, that proves we're awake."

"Up and at them, stud." Arcee said with a grin that Jack could feel. "We should be ready to return to Earth. It'll be good to get back."

* * *

"Good morning, Jack, Arcee." Carlson said as they walked onto the bridge. From the main viewer, Ironhide saluted them and the human visible behind him gave a quick wave before turning back to finishing installing the human-scaled control console. "We're almost ready for departure, Ironhide's ships have been equipped with enough life-support and consumables to see their human crews back to New Cybertron with a 100% safety margin."

"You humans are very useful." Ironhide said. "You do the fiddly work really, really fast. It would have taken my techs three times as long to do the installation."

"So when can we depart?"

"First, we should top up our energon tanks." Ironhide said. "I have an asteroid base in the outer system with enough energon to refill my three ships and fully restock yours. It'll take a few of your days to transfer it all, but I'm certain that New Cybertron will appreciate it. I have already sent over the list."

Jack glanced at Carlson's console and let out a whistle of astonishment. "Wow! That is a _lot_ of energon. How did you get it?"

"Raiding Decepticon mining operations and supply convoys, mainly." came the reply. "We were also able to liberate the contents of several energon storage-warehouses on we installed the shielding in the asteroid, we had a safe place to store our supply."

Arcee leaned over and looked at the figures, then she gave Ironhide a respectful salute. "I wish you'd been able to make contact with us earlier." she said. "That much energon would have allowed us to do far more against Megatron. Well, you're with us now."

"Body and Spark." Ironhide said proudly. "For Optimus Prime!"

"For New Cybertron." Arcee replied.

* * *

"Urgh. If I never see another pallet of Energon, it'll be too soon." Arcee moaned, slumping into her chair. "Three days of constant work, my servos are aching!"

"Sorry I couldn't be more help," Jack said apologetically, "but those energon cubes were heavy."

Arcee shrugged, then rubbed at her left shoulder. "It's okay, love. Your idea of rigging up those force-emitters to push the pallets down the loading tube was brilliant, and having humans man the tractor beams to help guide the pallets into place let us get it done twice as fast as I thought it would take. I still ache, though."

"I'm sure you do." Jack said, pulling out the polishing kit. Arcee smiled and moved to her sleeping pallet, lying face-down as Jack pulled out a cloth and a small container.

"So, what were you and Carlson talking about near the end? And what did Ironhide have to say?"

"Well, Carlson was giving me information on human customs, while Ironhide was giving supporting advice, most of which I intend to ignore." Arcee replied. "Jack, I have to ask... a bit higher... oh, that's nice."

Jack smiled as he carefully applied the lubricant to her shoulder, gently smoothing it into the joint. "You were going to ask?"

Arcee hesitated and Jack nodded.

"No, I'm not going to pull out now. How could I? You... you hold my heart."

"Now that's a grotesque image." Arcee giggled and Jack flicked her with the polishing cloth before resuming.

"You know what I mean. You hold my... my soul. Being around you, being with you... feels right. Whenever you're away, I can't help but worry about you."

"Same here." Arcee said as Jack moved across and began work on her other shoulder. "Convenient, hmm?"

"Yep." Jack grinned. "Of course, the fact that we share our dreams, literally, helps a lot. I'm going to miss you when we make the Jump."

"Yeah." Arcee sighed. "All those tweaks, and Vector Prime didn't give me human immunity to Jump. For me, it'll be a blink, for you, a week."

Jack paused, then moved up and began applying lubricant to Arcee's neck. Arcee hummed slightly and Jack grinned.

"Feels good, hmmm?"

"You have a decade to stop doing that." Arcee murmured. "Of course, if you need to take longer, I'll understand."

"I'll have to stop before then." Jack said. "Wouldn't want to miss tomorrow's party, after all."

* * *

"We are gathered here today in sight of God, to unite in marriage Jack Darby, also known as Jack Prime of Earth, and Arcee of Cybertron." proclaimed Carlson to the crowded cargo bay. He stepped back and Ironhide stepped forwards, his freshly-polished armor gleaming under the spotlights and the glow from the energon cubes racked down the sides of the bay.

"We are here to celebrate the joining of two Sparks, though one be organic and the other cybertronian." he said. "As Primus decreed, the casing of the spark is unimportant, appearance is nought compared to thought and deed. To quote from the Files of Primus, Know that when two Sparks join in love and harmony, all should rejoice. Should love be true, should those who have joined support each other, protecting each other, loving each other, aiding each other, then I shall place my hand in protection over them and grant them life forever, both in the realm of physical existence and within my Spark once they pass Beyond. Jack Prime and Arcee are bonded, we are here to confirm this the human way, and then celebrate their bond."

Ironhide stepped back and Carlson took his position.

"As it is customary for cybertronians to receive runes as a token of marriage, we have adjusted the ceremony accordingly. Jack?"

Jack nodded and stepped to the edge of the platform as Arcee moved closer. Reaching out, he accepted the small metal plate with his name inscribed on it in cybertronian runes from Hot Rod and placed it against Arcee's proffered hand, lining it up with the slight depression which had been prepared on the back of it.

"With this rune..." Clarkson prompted.

"With this rune..."

"I, Jack Darby..."

"I, Jack Darby...

"Take you, Arcee, to be my Sparkmate..."

"Take you, Arcee, to be my Sparkmate."

"To protect and support..."

"To protect and support...

"For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health..."

"For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health..."

"Until death do us part."

"Until death do us part."

The rune-plate slid into place and a slight glow around the edges indicated it had sealed in position. Arcee smiled at him, then took an almost identical plate, differing only in the name inscribed on it, from her human bridesmaid and placed it above the depression in the back of Jack's hand.

"With this rune..." Ironhide prompted.

"With this rune, I, Arcee, take you, Jack Darby, to be my Sparkmate. To protect and support, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."

As Arcee finished, Jack felt a slight tingle run up his arm as the plate snapped into position and became part of his arm.

"I now pronounce you Sparkmate and Sparkmate, husband and wife!" Ironhide boomed, "Jack, you may now kiss the bride."

Jack leaned forwards and placed his lips against Arcee's. After what seemed like both a split-second and an hour, he straightened up, breathing deeply and gazed into Arcee's optics before becoming aware of the cheering and applause which thundered through the bay.

* * *

"To Jack and Arcee!"

Jack managed not to blush as Ironhide rose and raised his goblet of liquid energon high as he called the toast.

"Jack and Arcee!"

Jack shook his head in rueful amusement as Hot Rod rose.

"I am told it is traditional for the best man to give a speech at occasions like this, so I have prepared one. When I first met Jack Prime, I made what was the biggest mistake of my life. I ignored him."

Laughter sounded and Hot Rod held up his hand for silence. "I was young, brash, cocky...well, I still am! But at the time, I didn't think that any non-cybertronian could be equal to us. Jack proved me wrong.

"We all know that Jack was the one who took Megatron off-line, sacrificing two of his limbs to do so. Unlike us cybertronians, humans cannot be repaired quickly when they are that badly damaged. Jack never showed anyone but Arcee the pain he felt, the guilt he carried. Ending a life scarred his Spark, even though he knew it was necessary. I dread to think what might have become of him had he not had his Sparkmate supporting him. Even though his injuries meant that he could not move far without aid, even though his wounds had robbed him of his physical strength, Arcee saw beyond that. She had come to know him and saw not his damaged outer shell, but his Spark, a Spark fully as powerful and pure as any true Prime, and she gave of herself to help him stand strong once more. And in that giving, she became stronger too.  
"Now, two of the greatest warriors I have had the honor to meet are here before us, united. And together, they are greater by far than each of them could be alone. I only hope that at some time in the future, I may prove even a tenth as worthy as either of them, and may find love like theirs. Ladies and gentlemen, organics and cybertronians, Jack and Arcee!"

The volume of the cheers and shouts of approval almost caused Jack to cover his ears, then the audience quietened and Jack rose, pulling out the speech he had managed to compose the previous day.

"Thank you. When I first encountered Arcee, she was in bike mode and I was struck by her grace. As a bike, she was the coolest, most awesome thing I had ever seen, and I wished that I owned a bike like her. When I discovered that she was a robot, I was scared, but I soon adjusted. Of course, it helped that I found myself trying to rein in Miko, meant that I was too busy to be scared.  
"When Optimus assigned Arcee to protect me from the Decepticons, I didn't really know what to do. At first she seemed almost aloof, reserved, almost aggravated with me. Although to be fair, I did do some stupid things early on. But after I left the Autobots, it was Arcee who persuaded me to return, who showed me that I was wrong to leave my new friends.  
"I can't say when the relationship between Arcee and myself started to change, but I realized it had when we went up against Airachnid. The first time, I was outmatched, but I still fought. Not for myself, but to save Arcee. The second time, when Arcee and I had to rescue my mother from MECH, I looked at Arcee as she returned from her victory over Airachnid and I knew that I was hopelessly in love.  
"When Optimus was briefly lost to us, the others would say I stepped into his place. They are wrong. I couldn't have done what I did without Arcee to guide and direct me, and to protect me when we went on the mission that resulted in Optimus' return.  
"Ever since we met, Arcee has been there for me. Even when I was being a stroppy teenager, her belief in me helped me become a better person. What I am now, I owe to Arcee. Thank you."

The cheers that had resulted from Hot Rod's speech were a mere shadow of those that rose after Jack stopped speaking.


	7. Return Voyage

"I'll miss you."

Arcee knelt down and gathered Jack into her arms, giving him a heartfelt kiss. "I'm only sorry that Stasis doesn't work on humans." she said. "It'll only be a blink for me, but..."

"I know." Jack whispered. "Unless things go wrong, I'll be here for you when you wake."

"Thank you." Arcee said, releasing Jack and standing up. Stepping backwards, she entered the pod and nodded.

"Ready."

"See you in a week." Jack said as he pressed the activation button, a tear trickling unnoticed down his cheek.

* * *

"Is Arcee safe?" Carlson asked as Jack entered the Bridge. At Jack's nod, he turned to the screens.

"Ark command ready. Status?"

"Justice Blade, all cybertronians safe in stasis, ready for Jump."

"Justice Spear, same and same."

"Justice Shield, also same."

"Then prepare for Jump. All hands, this is the captain. Man your stations, prepare for acceleration. Jump in one minute. All hands to stations, this is not a drill."

"All stations report readiness, all personnel suited." a woman reported from the side of the bridge and Carlson nodded.

"All that we need to do is return to New Cybertron with our cargoes and new allies. We have done too much, come too far to fail, so let's make sure that we do this right."

Jack leaned back as the grav-generators in the Ark started to whine as they fought against the massive acceleration provided by the engines. Ahead of them, the starfield seemed to distort and shatter, turning into familiar blue lines.

* * *

Jack sat on the bench in his dreams and smiled as a familiar figure approached.

"So, we underway?"

"We are, and I thought you were in stasis?"

"I am." Arcee replied, catching Jack in a hug as he rose to greet her. "At least, I remember entering the pod and you looking at me as you pressed the button, then I was here and you appeared. Is my pod still working?"

"It was when I went to sleep." Jack said. "I checked it personally. Hmmm, you are... you, aren't you?"

"I think so." Arcee said with a frown. "I mean, we've established beyond doubt that we share our dreams. I wonder if this is another of Vector's gifts?"

"The ability to dream in stasis?" Jack asked and Arcee smiled.

"Why not? Stasis pods slow us to less than a millionth of our normal operation speed. Leave us in a stasis pod for a year, and less than a moment has passed from our viewpoint. Although how my processor could be... could I be using yours?

Jack blinked. "What?"

"My processor will be going really slow, but we have the link. Perhaps when you fell asleep, my program jumped into your brain or something. I've seen Ratchet's scans of human brains, you'd be amazed at how much spare processing power you have. You humans use it so haphazardly, I can _believe_ that you evolved rather than were designed."

"Thanks... I think."

Arcee laughed and briefly squeezed him as they started walking along the now-familiar beach. "You know I didn't mean that as an insult, my love."

They continued their walk in companionable silence for a while, then Arcee suddenly groaned and shook her head.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"We got married, and Miko wasn't there. She'll never forgive us for this, we'll never hear the end of it. Raf'll probably understand, but Miko..."

"We'll face her down together." Jack said. "Besides, I'm the one who should be worried. You're far larger than her, and metal. I'm the one that needs to worry."

"If the worst comes to the worst, I'll turn into a bike, you jump on and we get away from her as fast as possible." Arcee said with a laugh. "I'm nimble enough that not even Bumblebee will be able to keep up."

"Sounds like a plan." Jack said, relaxing again.

* * *

"Sir? You may want to see this..."

Jack looked over at Carlson, who was examining some readouts with a quizzical expression. Walking over, he found himself looking at a set of familiar readouts.

"That's Arcee's pod."

"Yes, sir. And if you'll watch this? It's at ten-to-one compression."

As Jack watched, the slow flickers on the readout suddenly spiked, but only the processor readings, and in a pattern Jack had never seen before.

"What the... when did that happen?"

"Last night, sir. Caught the end of it this morning, but diagnostics show nothing wrong with the pod itself. I'm still not fully up to speed on cybertronian tech, I was wondering if you had any ideas."

Jack looked at the readouts and replayed them, his mind working fast. After replaying them again, he looked up with a wry smile.

"I think that Arcee was dreaming."

Carlson looked at him, confused. "Do cybertronians dream?"

"Not as we do, normally." Jack said. "But Arcee was upgraded by Vector Prime. Part of what he gave her was the ability to share my dreams. I was unsure if it was really her last night, but this proves to me that it was. Arcee will be fascinated to hear this, I'll probably tell her tonight."

"I... see." Carlson said, slowly. "That's... incredible. I knew you two were close, but sharing each other's dreams? And from stasis? wow."

Jack nodded and turned round.

"Glad I could help. Anything else?"

"Not at this time." Carlson said, looking slightly distracted. Jack looked at him for a moment, then shrugged and moved across to his dais. Seating himself, he activated his console and checked the maintenance logs to ensure that everything was still holding.

* * *

"...so this is a proper shared dream." Jack finished and Arcee nodded.

"Good to know. I'd hate to think I'd forget this when I emerged from stasis. Or not have remembered it, or... well, you know."

"I do." Jack grinned, running his fingers lightly down Arcee's side. She twitched and Jack's eyebrows rose.

"Arcee, are you... ticklish?"

"Am I what?"

Jack grinned and ran his fingers lightly up her side. As Arcee twitched away from him, he moved his hands to under her arms, fingers moving lightly and Arcee squealed.

"Jack! I... stop that... hahaha... this is... stoppit! I don't... I'll get you when you... no, I surrender! Stop, I surrender!"

Jack stopped tickling and pulled Arcee to his chest, his arms draped across her shoulders. Arcee let out a humm of pleasure and leaned back against him.

"That was... I didn't know I was ticklish."

"Probably not something that comes up often." Jack said, resting his cheek against her head. "I wouldn't dare to try it in the real world, the way you were twitching and squirming, I'd probably get an accidental flying lesson."

Arcee snorted in amusement and they watched the sun slowly descend towards the ocean.

"I wonder if this place really exists on Earth." she said after a while.

"It does seem familiar." Jack mused. "I wonder if it's a beach I visited as a child?"

"If it is, maybe we can visit it when we reach Earth." Arcee said. "How long to go?"

"A couple of days." Jack said with a smile. "We were able to use the scan-data out to plot a shorter route back. Explains why you lot developed the Space Bridge, having to rely on autopilot and stasis pods must be hard on your nerves."

"Circuits." Arcee corrected gently. "Yes, historically we mainly used the Space Bridge for colonists and starships for when the supplies were too big to bridge."

"Well, I guess starships will become popular now you have us organics to pick up the slack." Jack laughed. "True, it'll mean life-support and hydroponics and plumbing and all the rest..."

"It's worth it." Arcee stated. "It's worth it."

* * *

"Prepare for reversion. All hands man your stations, defense crews to weapons."

Jack sat down as the tempo of work around him rose to a higher pitch and Carlson glanced back at him.

"Five minutes to reversion. All bay personnel to your seats, disengage stasis pods on my mark."

Jack looked round, then looked at his console. In the corner, a small button glowed, protected by a flip-up shield. Next to it, a small readout showed Arcee's status in her pod.

"Four minutes. All personnel confirm ready."

Jack swallowed and looked round. Behind him, a lieutenant was strapping himself into the seat just by the release panel for Hot Rod's pod.

"Three minutes. All stations confirm readiness, scanners and shields on stand-by, ready for activation."

"Two minutes."

"Sixty seconds to reversion!"

"Thirty seconds!"

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, reversion!"

The rippling tube of FTL seemed to shatter and reform into blue streaks which shortened into a starfield.

"Reversion complete! Disengage stasis pods."

Jack flipped up the cover and pressed the button on his console. The readings next to it froze, then started to change and Jack began to unfasten his seatbelt as a hiss from behind him indicated Hot Rod's emergence from stasis.

"Scanners report no hostile ships, navigation confirms Earth system. Stand down weapons."

"We home?" Arcee asked from the doorway and Jack spun round, his jaw dropping.

"Wha... how... huh?"

"I think it's another gift." Arcee smiled, glancing at where Hot Rod was sprawled in his pod, looking at his hands and giggling. "Fast recovery... ummm, Rod?"

"I'm a little gearwheel..." Hot Rod sang, somewhat off-key, before falling over.

"Oookay... I know I was slightly loopy last time, but not _that_ loopy. I wonder..."

Jack looked at her and she shrugged. "Just a thought, maybe the total readjustment is the same, but the shorter recovery time means you seem crazier for a bit."

"Ooh, ooh, I know this one, 42!" exclaimed Hot Rod. For a couple of seconds everyone just stared at him, then returned to their tasks.

"We have a communication request from Elita-One." said the rating at the comm station. "She says welcome back, and asks for a mission report, especially our extra ships."

"Put her on the main screen." Jack said. "And fire over the mission summary on a sub-frequency."

"Putting her on now." came the reply and the main screen flickered, revealing a familiar face.

"Welcome back, Jack, Arcee." she said. "I'm afraid Optimus is currently caught up with some... negotiations with several human leaders at the moment regarding human/cybertronian equality, but I'm sure he'll be back as soon as the meeting concludes. If you can enter lunar orbit, we'll get you down as soon as possible."


	8. Journey

"Must you go so soon?" Elita-one asked as the newly-constructed ground-bridge started to power up. Jack nodded as he positioned himself on Arcee's saddle.

"We discussed this, and we do need some time alone to let our Bond settle."

"We're going to drop by Bulk and Bee first, then we have a beach to find." Arcee said as Jack slightly adjusted the panniers and tested their effect on Arcee's balance. "Tell Optimus not to worry about us, and to call if he needs us for anything."

Elita nodded. "Jack, I'll arrange a transfer into your account, you have done so much for us, you deserve some down-time. Arcee, you look after Jack Prime for us, alright?"

"I always do, as he does for me." Arcee replied. "Don't worry about us, we've managed to survive Unicron, Megatron, the Insectoids, Scraplets... we'll be fine."

Elita nodded and stepped back slightly, giving them a clear run to the now-stable vortex.

"I'll pass word to Orion. Be well."

Jack waved as Arcee accelerated, and with a spray of dust and gravel, they were gone. Elita stared after them as the ground-bridge closed, then a second vortex opened nearby and a large figure strode through.

"Jack? Arcee?"

"You just missed them, Orion." Elita said quietly as Optimus stopped beside her.

"I just wanted to wish them good luck on their journey."

"I think they already knew." she replied. "They said that they'd be there for us should we ever need them again."

"Hopefully, we will not be forced to interrupt their time together." Optimus rumbled thoughtfully. "They have both sacrificed much for the Autobot cause, it is time and past that they claimed their reward."

The vortex Optimus had appeared through re-opened and both figures turned and walked towards it.

"They make a cute couple, don't they?" Elita asked as Optimus draped his arm across her shoulders and hugged her. "Although I don't know how many of the others will understand."

"If anyone tries to cause any trouble for Arcee and Jack, they will answer to me. Personally." Optimus stated as they stepped through the vortex. A moment later, the vortex vanished, leaving only the sighing wind and rising sun.


End file.
